Union members at Chevron’s Gorgon Facility, Wheatstone Platform and Wheatstone Downstream gas processing facilities have officially notified the company that as of 14 September 2023 they will cease work for two weeks.

This legal protected industrial action has already been approved by Australia’s Fair Work Commission.

However, in response to recent news that Chevron’s domestic gas plant at Wheatstone has tripped, Offshore Alliance members at the facility have also made an offer to perform work during the upcoming industrial action.

The work required would include restarting the plant and even returning to full production capacity.

Offshore Alliance spokesperson and AWU WA secretary Brad Gandy said: “Offshore Alliance members are engaging in protected industrial action in response to Chevron’s obstinacy in refusing to accept an industry standard enterprise agreement to cover these facilities.

“Members are not seeking to negatively impact users of gas in Western Australia by engaging in protected industrial action against Chevron, and have given this undertaking as a show of good faith,” said Gandy.

Members from Offshore Alliance — an alliance between the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) — will continue discussions with Chevron representatives as both organisations attempt to conciliate an outcome to the current enterprise agreement (EA) negotiations covering the three facilities and approximately 500 workers.

Previously notified protected industrial action will commence this Thursday the 7th of September, which includes 20 types of industrial action, including numerous work bans and shorter stoppages of work.

Gandy said the union members do not take industrial action lightly.

“We’re now at the point where a period of industrial action impacting all three facilities seems unavoidable. Chevron continues to delay by offering out of touch proposals and refusing reasonable claims put forward by members. Chevron knows what the industry standards are – they just need to make the offer,” said Gandy.

American petrochemical company Chevron remains as the only major corporation on the WA gasfields without an industry standard EA covering its workforce.

Offshore Alliance Members working for the foreign company have still not reached agreement on several key claims including job security, agreed rosters, mutual agreement on transfers to other Chevron worksites or the working of overcycle, training standards, travel arrangements and pay rates.